The Tree's the Witness
by Claes Winterspell
Summary: Tonight is the night her Gin leaves.


**Author:**Claes Winterspell

**Rate: **K+

**Pairing: **Ichimaru Gin & Matsumoto Rangiku

**Summary: **Tonight is the night her Gin left.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters here; the are the ownership of (the awesome) Tite Kubo. I also do not own the song or lyrics of Dancing (by Elisa). I also don't own playlist dot com.

**Dedication: **to that poor soul, first to ever hear of my idea for this story; i love it when i make you cry, dear. haha. You know who you are Jacqie Poh-poh, you Teletubby, you. ;P I hope I didn't ruin the image of this story's skeleton in your head, my sweet. xD May you shed tears again when you read this. =3

**Acknowledgments: **Hail to my (first ever) beta, whose inexperience may or may not cause the downfall of this fic- if the plot and characterization didn't do the job. lol. Good job, honey, maybe there will be a next time. ;D

**Warning: **I highly recommend you listen to the song Dancing by Elisa (I prefer to listen to it at playlist dot com - the one with the 5:36 time and album picture) while reading; that way it makes much more sense and feels more emotional. :)

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_So I put my arms around, you around you  
And I know that I'll be leaving soon_

_My eyes are on you, they're on you  
And you see that I can't stop shaking  
No, I won't step back but I'll look down to hide from your eyes  
'cause what I feel is so sweet and I'm scared that even my own breath  
Oh could burst it if it were a bubble_

It was a night of booze, booze and more booze yet again and the silence of the night had taken a vacation and has been replaced by the sound of partying for the time being. Laughter, yells, the crash of porcelain and then a bang as a busty caramel haired lieutenant barges out of the back door with grace only a laboring sea lion could match. Her eyes are bleary from the alcohol. She vomits, and she is much more sober now.

"Gin," she murmurs to the man whose arms are suddenly supporting her and keeping her hair out of the way.

"Heya, Rangiku," he oh so casually replies. She struggles to stand and he does not help, though his smile tightens infinitesimally. She manages an upright position and now she is facing him as his arms re-adjust around her waist. He dully notes her alcoholic stench.

"Why are you here," she asks, lifting her eyes to meet his smiling ones.

"'Was takin' a walk, 'thought o'gettin' some good o'l fresh air, 'ya see." He shrugs, carelessly, his head tilting slightly to the right. "Been drinkin' too much, Rangiku?"

"You know how it is," she tries to imitate his nonchalance. "Division eight parties are all about the booze. I think I've gotten a bit rusty, though. Got beaten by the Captain."

He just hums a reply and she leans her head against his shoulder for a while. Just for a while. Because she would rather absorb this moment, this bitter sweet moment than ask him how he has been.

Gin feels her hands shake as they grasp his sleeves; she doesn't even dare let her breaths make a sound. He watches her.

And he almost, _almost_ considered ditching Aizen.

_And I'd better dream if I have to struggle_

_..._

_I'm dancing in the room as if I was in the woods with you  
No need for anything but music  
Music's the reason why I know time still exists_

Blue eyes scan the room. It looks familiar and for a moment she thinks she was back in headquarters. Then it strikes her that she is in her own home and she laughs. She laughs and laughs until she dances and all she sees are trees. Her dance turns into a pirouette and her pirouette transforms into just spinning. Her trees are no longer trees but a dark field with high grass and bubbles have started floating from nowhere. She continues to laugh, a joyous laugh, a blissful laugh.

She closes her eyes but nothing changes. The field is still there and bubbles still lift from somewhere in the ground to the dark skies. She let everything pass her by; the soft breeze, the bubbles, her memories. Everything is let loose like balloons begging to reach the heavens.

And then she feels arms wrapping around her and her laugh quiets down into a smile, a calm smile, a reminiscing smile. She stops spinning and just stand there, in her spot, her arms hugging her own chest as his arms remain around her waist. She leans her head back where his chest is but all that happens is that she falls and her field is no longer there replaced by darkness.

Her eyes are wide open.

"Matsumoto!" Her captain shouts from behind the backrest. "Stop lazing about and finish your paperwork!"

_So I put my arms around, you around you  
And I hope that I will do no wrong_

Once she had thoroughly absorbed the memory and he had gotten bored watching her, they moved. He let go, and for a moment she was resigned (she knows he'll leave. He always had.) as she watched him walk away and the distance between them increased. That is until he looked back and waited for her to follow. Her eyes widened momentarily in shock then she started to follow him. His smile never faltered.

He leads her into a small hill where there is nothing but an expanse of grass, a huge rock, and a tree on top and off-center. He sits on the rock and she beside him. They are quiet. But then she yawns and the silence is disrupted.

"Gin, I'm tired," she says, unknowingly pouting much to her companion's amusement. He tells her to sleep, then. She says fine and slides off the rock to lay on the ground. She rests on her back, her fingers interlaced on her stomach, her blue eyes looking at the starry dark sky for a while before hiding behind her lids. She sighs.

Small swishing sounds are heard then a small crunch and she can faintly feel his concealed reiatsu beside her; its small warmth and his body heat combined lulled her to sleep.

As she sleeps, he watches the skies and smiles. Tonight is his goodbye to her; the plan is about to be put into action and this is probably the most suitable time to properly part- well, as properly as he could manage anyways. He knows he will hurt her both later and after that. He knows he will lie. He knows she'll get mad but will forgive him anyway; he smiles at the thought.

She will always forgive him.

Rangiku stirs in her sleep and he turns to her. Beads of sweat have formed on her forehead and neck, her brows are scrunched together and she is frowning. She was now clenching the grass beside her and her head shifts from side to side. Cut-off words leave her mouth, creating giberrish. She is having a nightmare.

"Ran-chan," the silver-haired man says as he lightly shakes her shoulder. He semi-hovers above her as he tries to shake her awake to no avail. Then he notices her words. She accuses him of leaving (and boy did that hit home) then begs him to stay. And the smile that left his lips returns. Satisfaction.

"Wake up, Rangiku, I'm still here, y'know," he says (not bothering to hide the smile in his voice) and she does with a strong gasp. She almost head-butts him as she shoots to a sitting position.

She is disoriented for a moment. Then all becomes clear.

"Gin," her voice is hoarse. He shows her smiling face.

"Did'ya really think I'd leave 'ya in a hill, Ran-chan," he asks. She bit her tongue. _Yes._ "C'mon, go back ta' sleep, Rangiku. You gotta sleep s'more."

She let him push her back down to the grass. Their eyes never leaving each other. She always marvels at his ice-colored orbs.

She goes back to sleep with his eyes in her head.

Once her breathing was even he stands from the grass and brushes the dirt off. He steps back and memorize her sleeping face. He leaves.

_My eyes are on you, they're on you_

For the second time that day Rangiku Matsumoto awakes but this time she is alone. However, as she clutches her hands on her stomach, she notices a white coat covering her from the harsh cold wind. And even without looking, she knew on that pure white coat an encircled black number three is imprinted at the back.

_And I hope that you won't hurt me..._

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